Congo's 9-month copper output up 8.7%, cobalt nearly doubles

Copper output in Democratic Republic of Congo rose 8.7 percent year on year through the first nine months of 2018 to 908,695 tonnes while cobalt production jumped 92.5 percent to 115,116 tonnes, the central bank said on Thursday.

Congo is Africa's top copper producer and the world's leading miner of cobalt, which is a key component in electric vehicles and other electronic products.

Gold production rose 20.2 percent over the same period to 28,064 kg, central bank data showed.